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A Toast to Gjetost

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:02:33 +0000

Since today is the day for making toasts - and resolutions don't begin until tomorrow - here's a second toast to accompany my earlier blog ( "A Skagen Toast to the New Year"): here's to Gjetost! Norway's hallmark brown cheese, packaged in the U.S. under the "Ski Queen" label, is delicious when sliced thin and placed on toast (or crispbread). Yet it also lends itself beautifully to creating this non-alcoholic gjetost fondue, perfect for dipping meatballs, apple slices, chunks of rye bread, and roasted potatoes.

Nordic Nibbles image & copy; 12/31/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

A Skagen Toast

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:58:41 +0000

8 Festive Nordic Beverages to Ring in the New Year

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:55:10 +0000

2012 Scandinavian Food Highlights

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 19:05:31 +0000

What an adventurous year 2012 has been! It was a banner year for me, of course, because of Adams Media's publication of my first cookbook, The Everything Nordic Cookbook. Yet perhaps the best part of this project was that it encouraged me - in alignment with the tenets of the "New Nordic Cuisine" movement - to heighten my focus upon planning our meals around ingredients that are seasonal, fresh, and local. Who knew that dandelion greens tasted so good? Or that it was so easy to make Icelandic skyr at home? Inspired by this list of 2012's Scandinavian Food highlights, I can't wait to see what 2013 holds!...

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Glogg Cake

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:23:10 +0000

One of my primary resolutions for 2013 will be to more consistently follow the Swedish cooking proverb, "Man tager vad man haver"- to take what I already have on hand, using leftover ingredients to create new dishes in the interest of making sure that nothing goes to waste.

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2012 Nordic Foodie Lover Gift Ideas

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:47:16 +0000

With Advent soon upon us, I have - like Santa - begun "making my list." Although I haven't gotten to the point of checking it twice yet, I'm fairly sure I've already stocked up on everything included on last year's list of Favorite Nordic Holiday Host/ess Gifts. For 2012, though I'll be adding a new "favorite" kitchen tool of mine: cookie stamps (which work beautifully with recipes like Lemon-Cardamom Cookies). Now all I have to do is round up the reindeer ...

Favorite gift list image & copy; 11/30/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

Swedish Christmas Toffee

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:08:24 +0000

Scandinavian Almond Cake

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:34:13 +0000

If you're lucky enough to attend any one of the many Scandinavian holiday bazaars that are being held among Scandinavian-American communities this season, you're sure to find this delicious almond cake on sale. Baked in a special ridged pan (primarily made - gasp - in Germany), Scandinavian almond cake is a quick and delicious item to have on hand when friends and family show up for impromptu holiday visits. This cake, like most Scandinavian baked goods, freezes beautifully. You can often find the pans (commonly under the Bethany Housewares label) in specialty cooking stores, on eBay, or you can order them online from distributors like Ingebretsen's...

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Norwegian Fattigman Cookies

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:27:49 +0000

If the rich folk of 18th-century Norway commemorated their families by commissioning special, personalized irons on which to bake goro (sometimes translated as "affluent") cookies, the poorer classes created a baking legacy that has ultimately secured a more lasting presence in Scandinavian kitchens: fattigman (or "poor man" cookies). Although the ingredients' lists for these two types of cookies are virtually identical, fattigman are cut into diamonds, twisted into knots, and quickly fried before being sprinkled with sugar and served warm. You don't need to be a poor man to enjoy these yummy treats - but eat too many of them, and you may well become a fat one!

Fattigman image Â2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

Christmas Goro Cookies

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:26:29 +0000

One my my favorite holiday cookies are Norwegian Goro - delicately imprinted cookies that are prepared on a special cookie iron, flavored with cardamom, and have a texture that's a unique cross between a cookie, a cracker, and a waffle. Like most Scandinavian cookies, Goro can be baked ahead in quantity and frozen, making it easy to include them as part of the seven-item cookie plate that is traditional in Norwegian and Norwegian-American households during the holiday season.

Goro image Â2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.